Improved fruit-jar



W. HUNT.

Fruit Jar. No. 56,755. 5 Patented July 31, 1866.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HUNT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED FRUIT-JAR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,755. dated July 31, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HUNT, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Sealing Cans or Jars for Preserving Food, 8m. 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

Self-sealing cans have now become very extensively known as an article of manufacture.

They are made of various materials and shapes, but distinguished from other vessels by havin g a flattened or otherwise prepared surface at or near the top and a narrow neck, whereby the extent of the joint which is to be sealed is reduced, and also the force required to press rubber or the like to make the joint tight is reduced within reasonable. limits.

My invention is applied exclusively to this kind of cans and to the apparatus to be used therewith.

My invention relates to the means of confining the cover to the can or jar, and is applicable to those in which the joint is sealed with rubber or the like elastic material, as also'to those in which a tight joint is made by grinding or the like. a

It consists, first, in the combination of a glass cover with a body of ceramic ware, so as to form a can which will endure heat without cracking, and will also show the contents without opening. 1 r

7 It consists, secondly, in theemployment of a flat key or transverse piece extending across above the cover, and so formed and arranged that, while it lies flat, there is no considerable strain on the cover, and that, while in this condition, the key may be removed at pleasum, and also so arranged that the same will,

on being forcibly turned up edgewise on oneedge or the other, press down on the cover with different degrees of force, inducing such a strain as to press the cover against the jar with sufficient force to maintain, an airtight contact, even if the thickness of the packing or links be considerably varied. I prefer to hold the key by the aid of one or more links or ties of stout twine or wire.

It consists, thirdly, in constructing the can necting the links or ties immediately below the cover, the can being contracted so much at that point that the ears will not project to any considerable extent beyond the body.

It consists, fourthly, in the employment of such links permanently attached to the can, so as not to be lost on opening the can.

I employ the words can and jar assynonymous.

My invention may be used with vessels made of various materials; but I prefer the kind of pottery known'as stone and crockery ware.

I can employ any of the approved modes of sealing or packing the joint.

I propose, generally, to use reasonably plain and finished surfaces of the can and cover, such as can be cheaply made by ordinary means, and to introduce a thin layer of indiarubber.

I will now proceed to describe what I consider the best means of carrying out my inventfion.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, and represent several modifications of the construction.

Figure 1 is a side view; Fig. 2, a top view;

Fig. 3, a side view quartering or at right angles to the view in Fig. 1, showing my can with the cover loosely applied and not pressed down so as to make a tight joint. Fig. 4 is a top view of the can with the cover removed. Fig. 5 is a side view corresponding to Fig. 1, but with the key turned so as to press the cover down lightly. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 7 is a view of the same quartering. It corresponds to the view in Fig. 3, except that the cover is tightly pressed down.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all these figures.

A is the body of the can, made of stoneware, in the form represented, and a a are the ears, placed on the contracted portion or neck just below the cover. B is the cover, and Q the india-rubber packing-ring. D D are links, and E is the turning-key.

The cover B is of pressed glass, with a hanging lip around the edge; but this lip is not essential. A very good cover may be made of glass, or even of stone or of cast-iron galvanized, without the outside lip and with an in ternal lip to fit loosely within the can. The

object of the lip in either case is to act as a guide in placing the cover on and prevent its being displaced sidewise.

The links D may be formed of brass or other small tough wire passed several times through the holes in the ears (L a and the ends of the firm wood, or of metal or any other suitablematerial. I prefer to make the length about equal to the diameter of the can, and for cans of ordinary size to make the width about fiveeighths of an inch and the thickness about three-sixteenths of an inch. The two ends, if designed for the links, are slanted, beginning on the lower side about three-quarters of an inch from the end and extending it up to within about one-fourth of an inch from the upper edge. This makes a point over which the links are easily passed.

Fig. 5 shows a form of key E which provides for a variation in the tension on the links D. The ends of the key E are lowered on both sides, but more is taken from one side than the other, in the manner indicated at e 6. Now, by turning up the edge e e, the cover will be pressed down with gentle force; but by turning up the opposite edge the cover will be pressed down upon the can with greater force. This modification may be of service when the conditions vary in the stretching of the links D D or in the variation in the thickness of the packing material.

The key may be permanently tied by one of its ends to one of the links by means of a small wire or thread, to prevent it from being mislaid when unloosed.

To use my invention, after having filled the can and placed the coverB with its packing O properly in position, I lay the key E across the top of the cover and slip the free ends of the links D over the ends of the key. In this position the cover will be held loosely. Now, by simply turning the key E one-quarter of a revolution, so as to present its width in a vertical instead of a horizontal plane, the upper edge will be so much elevated as to induce a great strain on the links D D, and its lower edge will press forcibly down upon the cover B. The can is now sealed, and may be put away until the contents are wanted for use.

My can is very readily unsealed without the destruction of any of the parts. It is only necessary to turn the key E one-quarter of a revolution, so as to present its width in a horizontal plane again. This will liberate the parts and allow the links D to be slipped off and the key E and cover 13 to be removed.

Stoneware or crockery-ware is preferable to glass for cans, because it does not crack, however suddenly it may be heated; but a great objection to the use of stone or crockery ware fruit-jars is the impossibility of seeing the kind of fruit or its condition after it is canned without removing the cover.

This objection I overcome by combining a cover of glass with a body of ceramic material, as shown in the figures.

Fig. 8 is a side "iew, and Fig. 9 a top view, of another modification of my can, (represented with the cover tightly pressed down.) In these figures, a to represent hook-formed earsthat is, the ears enlarge as they project from the jar, so as to form knobs. Around these knobs or cars a twine or wire, D, is attached and extended across the top of the cover. I prefer that a slender twine be used, and that it be looped several times back and forth over the top of thejar. The key E lies under this,but in a plane transverse to it. The tightening is effected in the same manner as in the previouslydescribed form-that is to say, the key E is first introduced flat, and is afterward turned up edgewisc. The turning up of the edge takes up the string or tie D and presses the cover forcibly down upon the can. With this form of the parts, as also with thevother previously described, the string, twine, wire, &c., which form the parts D may be conveniently applied by extending the material by hand a sufficient number of times over the key E while the key lies down on its side. Stout twine, being thus handled and tied with a gentle tension, is allsufficient for the purpose. In unsealing this second form of my invention the operation proceeds, as before described, by turning the key E down upon its side and removing it endwise. The link D may now be removed by turning it one side.

Fig. 10 is a side view, and Fig. 11 a plan view, of another modification. Fig. 12 represents the links and the loop or circular tie which connects them.

The links D D are joined by means of a wire or band around the jar, a groove or indentation being made in the jar, as represented, around the can to receive and hold the band in place. I

Figs. 13 and 14c are side views, quartering to each other, as above explained, and representin g another modification. In this the links D extend quite to the base of the jar, and are connected across underneath. A groove or in dentation, m, about one-eighth of an inch wide and one-sixteenth of an inch deep, is provided to keep the connection from slipping sidewise. The groove extends partially or entirely across the bottom of the jar. This makes the links D D, in fact, a single tie. It may be made of any tough material; but I prefer stout flax twine. It should be sufficiently long to pass under the jar, with a large loop at each end, and should reach just high enough to allow the use of the key, as before explained. It is obvious that the same idea may be carried out by making a single tie of suitable length to pass around the entire cover and jar and be joined, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, which are elevations quartering to each other. The groove of the jar being set over one partof this tie, the other part is raised and slipped over the cover and the key is applied as before.

Figs. 17 to 20 show another modification. Fig. 17 is a side view. Fig. 18 is a vertical sec tion. Fig. 19 is a plan, and Fig. 20 is a vertical section at right angles to Fig. 18, and shows the coverloosely held. Figs. 21 and 22 are sections corresponding to Figs. 18 and 20, but with the cover tightly pressed down.

The cover 13 rests upon an internal lip or V shelf of the jar, the outer edge rising enough above the cover to admit a hole on the two sides, in which the ends of the key E may be received, as will be obvious. The key in this case may be made of some tough metal in order that the ends may be small and require smaller holes in the can to receive them. The red outline in Fig. 22 shows a further modifi cation of this plan, the material of the can being removed between these lines, so as to allow the key to be introduced and removed side wise, or by a hooking and unhooking motion, instead of being moved endwise.

In all these modifications the turning of the key edgewise tightens the cover and the turning it flatwise releases it.

Fig. 23 represents a style of fastening which I consider to be practicable, and wish to place on record in connection with the links D. It is used without the turning-key E. y

The height and style of the links may be the same as in either of the modifications above described; but Iesteem my ears a to be very far preferable to the other modifications.

Instead of the turning-key, a stout cross-bar not adapted to turn is used, as represented. A thumb-screw is introduced in the center. The links are placed over the ends the same as the key. The screw being now turned acts against the cover B and gives the required pressure.

Figs. 24 and 25 are quartering views of another of the many modifications of the means of holding the cover which are possible without my turning-key E. The cap may be made with a stationary key, with an incline at one or both ends, up which the cord is slipped until at the top, where a slight hollow receives it. If the cover (top of the jar) and packing are right, and the length of the tie D be carefully attended to, a sufficient pressure can be secured in this manner.

Fig. 5 shows the form of key which I have found to answer well for ordinary purposes,

in g and of adjusting the length of the eyes or,

confining parts at each side to hold the cams 'or wires were not as strong, as cheap, or as conveniently available under allcircumstances as my eyes a, with the strings or wires D adjusted, while my key E is turned flat, as represented; and, third, the cams or wires were capable of but one adjustment, and consequently could fit to but one thickness or one condition of the rubber, while my turning-key E is capable of two different adjustments, according as one edge or the other is presented upward.

Having now fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as an improvement in self-sealing cans, is as follows:

1. The within-described preserve-can, composed of a body of pottery-ware and a cover of vitreous material, fitted to each other, as shown, and adapted to withstand the temperature of filling, and to exhibit the contents without opening the can, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The ears a a, arranged on the neck or contracted portion of a preserve-can, substantially in the manner and so as to form attachments for the links D as herein set forth.

3. The flexible links D, adapted to operate in connection with the turning-key E, or its equivalent, as described, when said links are a permanently attached, so as not to be lost on unsealing the can, and are hinged so as to be turned down when out of use, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

4.. The flat turning-key E, having portions cut away at e, in combination with a preservecan, A, and cover B, and arranged to induce two different pressures upon the cover by turning upward one edge or the other of the key, as and for the purposes herein set forth.

WILLIAM HUNT.

Witnesses THOMAS D. STETsoN, D. W. SrE'rsoN. 

